Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-01-14


well known 70 all New Workers who have
any knowledge of hog-sefiesh. But away up
in Norkville at the foot of east Seventy
fourth street there is place where horses
are bought, sold and exchanged which nine
tenths of these knowing New Yorkes never
heard of. But every peddler who is rich
enough 10 afford a horse, every farmer
within a radius of twenty five miles of New
York and every fourth rate horse dealer has
been there, and with the exception of the
class last mentioned few care to go there a
second time
This peculiar institution is known as the
Horse Market. A more appropriate title
for il would be: "A market for broken down
horses, for that is really what it is, although
the ostute men who run it will never ac-
knowledge the fact.
Between and 3 O'Clock in the afternoon
the market is to be seen at its best.
stranger coming there then might well i'm
agine himself in a lunatic asylum. The
auctiOneer is no longer regarded. Every
dealer is then an auctioneer, albeit without a
license, and goes from group TO group shout
ing:
Biggest bargain OF the age True Ham
bletOnian blood. Trots a mile in 2 go Name
your price"
Horses that can hardly pull pound are
seen by some magic influence, trOtting like
race horses. Horses with all kinds and sorts
of diseases which. in the whirl and confusion,
are concealed; horses with hOofs half eaten
away; horses whose thighs seem out of joint;
blind horses; horses that are worn out from
old age; dozens and dozens Of horses. bat
not a sound one in the whole lot
THE DEALERS DUMMY"
Among these horses is one that Is the
dealers fsvnrite and the customers bane
In the vernacular of the horse market he is
termed dummy" The relevancy Of the
word Is not apparent He has what are
called "on" and 'Off' DAYS. One day he is
as brisk and fiery horse as one would wish
to speed up the boulevard on day when the
high flyers are out. The next day he may
be unable to pull pound or stand up in his
harness, or may give up the ghost altogether.
His disease is incurable, yet when he is in
good spirits he is a fine looking animal and
an expert might be fooled by him. 1t is no
wonder, therefore, that the average buyer is
deceived in him. There are many other
good looking horses sold at the market. but
as the reporter was privately assured by a
dealer, who acted as his guide, not one Of
them is worth taking away.
As the reporter and the artist were stand
ing on the outskirts of the busy .hrong a
meek looking man approached them.
Say, mister" he said to the reporter,
whose apparent greenness hld evidently i'm
pressed him, ''do you see that horse over
thar
Following the direction of the mans finger
the reporter saw what appeared to lie a
spirited bay horse. A typical jockey was
riding him around to shoS his good points,
while the owner was haranguing a large
crowd.
Now, III tell ye," continued the meek
man, confdentially. II know that horse
from way back He's a good un. He's
got blood in him, that horse has, an know
it. Now, the man wot owns him an is on
bod footins. We had quarrel some time
ago about IA little bargin, an 50 | don't want
ter bid on i'm. But if you kin buy him fur
slI5 I'll give ye an even 500 for i'm. Wot
dye say"
The reporter excused himself on the ground
that he had no funds with him, and the man
went away disguised
Clear skin game, " said the guide THAT
days. You pay your cash for him, and the
other fellow who said he'd buy him from
you never turns up. You never could catch
him, for you don't know his name, and if
you did he'd get dozen witnesses to prove
an slibi for him"
TRANSPORTATION SCENE.
In front Of one Of the sales stables, which
was locked, the guide paused and knocked in
a peculiar way on the door. 1t was opened
and the party walked in. A wonderful
scene met their gaze. Bottles, buckets and
pals full of liquids and powders were scat
tered everywhere. Three men with their
sleeves rolled up to their armpits were busy
doctoring a number Of sickly horses. A
broken down hack was in fifteen minutes
transformed into plunging, spirited horse
He was quickly taken out on the grounds and
sold at ten times his value to an innocent
buyer.
Every horse sold in the market Is ''doc-
tored' more or less, and the effect while it
lasts is remarkable. AL the dealers are
adeptS at the -eviyifying art, and can Fix
up horse in less time than it takes TO tell.
A horse apparently sound was sold the
other day for S65 to farmer hailing from
Long Island. The purchaser drove him up
the eastern Boulevard on his way TO the
Ninety ninth street ferry. Before he had
gone five blocks the horse began TO blow ter
ribly. He proved to be "a wheezsr, " that
is, short winded. When the farmer re-
turned he could not find the man he had
bought of. The horse looked as though he
would not outiivo the day.
I'm give you S for him for his bones"
said an uncouth red shirted horseman.
The farmer, fearing that his horse would
die on the journey, and just as fearful of
being guyed even if he did get him home,
accepted the offer. The purchaser was the
partner of the dealer who first sold the horse.
The animal was put unier the doctors
treatment and resold the same day to an
other unsuspecting farmer for $40.
A cutsoIn in general vogue among the
dealers is TO prove the strength of the horse
by showing his drawing power. The wheels
of the wagon to which the horse is harnessed
are tied together so that they cannot revolve
Then the horse is forced to drag the wagon
with its load for about twenty-five feet.
The test is not q particularly good one.
The "persuader, which in horse market
parlance means man and whip, manages to
call for the animals latent powers in one
grand effort.
At rare intervals the dealers are them
selves tricked. A man will sell them a horse
and the same day the owner will appear and
claim that his hired man has stolen the horse
and run away. He has no difficulty in iden-
tifying the horse, because his partner in the
steal has kept track of him. The dealer has
to give up the animal and has no chance Of
getting back his mony. As rule, when he
buys horse he knows to be stolen he trans
fers it through a dozen different parties.
That makes it harder to trace. Dealers sell
iom try to cheat each other, but form solid
combination against everybody else. The
law rearlires e certificate with every sale.